Hey guys I have a question. Can someone give me some info on the area of northwest greece called pilikati. My last name is Pilkati and this came up while doing searches on it. The similarities are really obvious and I dont think it can be a coincidence. My dad says our name now has simply become de-hellenized while another person told me it Vlach origins. I tried to tie my last name somehow to ALbanian but nothing comes close at all. If you can give me some info on this area Yiannis it would be really nice.Thanks!

-------------Albanian Proverb from the SouthLiria i ka rrėnjėt nė gjak.Liberty has its roots in blood.

Replies: Posted By: Yiannis
Date Posted: 18-May-2005 at 05:56

Iskender Bey ALBO wrote:

If you can give me some info on this area Yiannis it would be really nice.

I wish I knew, but the only think I could find is this site with tourist information: http://www.epcon.gr/metsovo/10leisu/leisure.htm - http://www.epcon.gr/metsovo/10leisu/leisure.htm (and some others in Greek)

Mountaineering

Mount Grammos (2.520)Access: Plikati of Konitsa ( 175 km. from Metsovo)Starting point:The community of Plikati.The community of Aetomilitsa (Konitsa).Duration:4 to 6 hours (without snow).Useful Information:The best period is during the summer.

-------------The basis of a democratic state is liberty. Aristotle, Politics

Those that can give up essential liberty to obtain a temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Benjamin Franklin

Posted By: Perseas
Date Posted: 18-May-2005 at 14:03

Plikati is one of the villages of Konitsa and if i am not mistaken, it is near Pirsogianni, where the inhabitants there have the usual problem of having to face armed Albanian gangs who havent got anything better to do than passing the borders and steal whatever they can.

Posted By: TheodoreFelix
Date Posted: 18-May-2005 at 15:38

.... Anyway I was told from another Greek kid who lived in the area that that district was an arvanite area.
Here was the quote from him:
"I know the village Plikati in the district of Ioannina. Its an
arvanite village. The inhabitants are arvanites and speak 'squip'. "

-------------Albanian Proverb from the SouthLiria i ka rrėnjėt nė gjak.Liberty has its roots in blood.

Posted By: Molossos
Date Posted: 20-May-2005 at 07:50

Iskender Bey ALBO wrote:

.... Anyway I was told from another Greek kid who lived in the area that that district was an arvanite area.Here was the quote from him:"I know the village Plikati in the district of Ioannina. Its an arvanite village. The inhabitants are arvanites and speak 'squip'. "

Did the Greek kid say 'squip'? I am not so sure about it. Plikati is an Aromanian (Vlach) settlement on the mountain of Grammos. I am wondering how national boundaries divide people. See, I am a Vlach too, although my ancestors were always loyal to Hellenic values.

We should be anarchists...

Posted By: TheodoreFelix
Date Posted: 20-May-2005 at 16:39

Thanks Molossos. Whats interesting is that my fathers side(clan or
something) migrated to korce in Albania. Korce has been known to have a
large Vlach minority.

-------------Albanian Proverb from the SouthLiria i ka rrėnjėt nė gjak.Liberty has its roots in blood.

Posted By: Molossos
Date Posted: 20-May-2005 at 22:57

No problem man. In another post I mentioned to you the historical frictions between the Christians and Muslims of Albania, something that is valid for the whole Balkans' area. You should know that Aromanian settlements in Epirus were attacked and razed at various times by gangs of Albanians.

Much of Albania's Aromanian population comes from the great Greek town of Moschopoli, which was a lighthouse of science and economic prosperity among other impoverished and backward Christian settlements in the Balkans. By the way, do you speak any Aromanian?

Posted By: TheodoreFelix
Date Posted: 20-May-2005 at 23:04

Actually, I did not know about my link to them before. It wasnt until I
became interested in my family history that I started checking out my
name. It never sounded Albanian. The more and more I look into my
family background the less and less "pure" I get. I guess national
feeling is thicker then blood... lol!
Yes I have heard about some of the actions of the Chams in the past.

-------------Albanian Proverb from the SouthLiria i ka rrėnjėt nė gjak.Liberty has its roots in blood.

Posted By: Molossos
Date Posted: 21-May-2005 at 09:41

Iskender, I did a little research on the Internet regarding Plikati's history and I came up with some information you might find interesting and valuable. I entered the website of the municipality Plikati belongs to (the Mastorohoria) and I will translate for you the brief history of the settlement.

"In 1841 a large number of families from Plikati settled in the new village of Drosopigi near Florina, in western Macedonia. Soon after, in 1861, they migrate again and create near Drosopigi the village Flabouro and also settle in the town of Ambelonas in Thessaly".